Do you know what the most common injury in the gym is?

It’s a weight dropping on your foot. Don’t let it happen!

Here’s the right way to load and unload a bar when squatting or bench pressing:

There’s a risk involved with any weight training exercise, and deadlifts are no exception. You might get through your work sets unscathed, but the danger isn’t over yet—many people get injured just unloading the bar!

There’s a right and a wrong way to do it. I’ve seen all sorts of dangerous techniques: lifting one end of the bar with one hand while trying to yank the plate off with the other, or reaching far across the bar while standing outside it to remove a plate. These are both common—and both wrong.

The proper way is to straddle the bar as shown in the video below, and slide the plate forward while keeping it within your base of support. You’ll notice the plate never goes past my toes. Maintain a neutral spine and bend from the knees as much as possible.

One more thing: injuries can also happen before the exercise starts and after it ends—just getting in and out of position can be risky if you’re not paying attention. Tomorrow I’ll show you a classic example of how that happens.